Need to relax? Try playing a violent video game!
A recent study suggests that violent video games may make people more relaxed — but only if their personality is already predisposed to being fairly relaxed.
Surprise of surprises: if you’re already aggressive or violent, then playing a violent game isn’t likely to calm you down, and you may well choose to beat someone up outside your local whether or not you’ve had a heavy WoW day. Your Mileage May Vary…
A sample of 292 World of Warcraft players, aged 12-83 (Eighty-three?), were found to feel calm or tired after playing a round of the online game.
“There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type,” said Jane Barnett, who headed the Middlesex study.
So, don’t blame video games for turning otherwise peace-loving citizens into bloodthirsty monsters, and take a holistic approach to those who use violence in all aspects of their lives. Seems fair.
(Via Yahoo! News)
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